September 9, 2023 - October 15, 2023
Eight artists from the 2022 residency program are featured in a group exhibit of their work representative of their residency programs. 2023 represents the 5th AIR show.
Featured artists are Jacqueline Jones, Don Demers, John Taft, Bill Alther, Anton Nowels, Michele Usibelli, Karen Bonderchuk and Stephanie Rose. Works on exhibit are available for sale.
Anton Nowels
Anton Nowels is an accomplished artist whose work has been exhibited on a national level. Nowels is both a Signature Member of the Oil Painters of America (OPA) and the American Impressionist Society (AIS). He recently won a Landscape Painting award at the Oil Painters of America (OPA) National Exhibition and at the American Impressionist Society Small Works Exhibition.
As a workshop instructor at Scottsdale Artists’ School, Winslow Art Center, and the Tubac School of Fine Art, Anton teaches and explores color theory approaches employed by Charles Hawthorne, Henry Hensche, Sergei Bongart, and Josef Albers. Nowels paints a variety of subjects and experiments with painting techniques. He has studied both contemporary and fine art. At Scottsdale Artists’ School, he earned scholarships to study with Ned Mueller, Camille Przewodek, and Romel de la Torre. At Arizona State University, he studied Interdisciplinary Art and explored contemporary art practices, including performance, installation, and video. Currently, Nowels is working on a series of large-scale paintings that focus on both representation and abstract impressionism.
Bill Alther
William (Bill) Alther’s work is a fusion of his lifelong interests: art and nature. A degree in wildlife biology from Texas A&M University eventually led to a position in zoology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for 13 years. Throughout, he was an active artist with a focus on bird sculptures in wood during the years through and after college.
In his early 30’s he took a color theory course that renewed his enthusiasm for painting. During the next few years he spent much of his free time further developing his ability and his understanding of painting. In 2004 he took the leap and began working as a full-time artist.
Alther participates in a selection of national shows each year in addition to his association with several established galleries. His awards include two notable honors from the National Museum of Wildlife Art Western Visions show in Jackson, Wyoming: the “Red Smith” Artists’ Choice Award in 2018 and also the Trustee Purchase Award in 2021.
His work is in the permanent collections of the Woodson Art Museum and the National Museum of Wildlife Art, as well as numerous private collections.
Bill lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife.
Don Demers
Donald Demers is considered to be one of the finest marine and landscape painters in America. The exemplary level of Don’s paintings has placed them in some of the most prestigious public and private collections in the country. Don is a highly sought after instructor and his teaching has taken him around the United States and Europe. His work as an illustrator has been honored four times in the annual exhibition of the Society of Illustrators. Don’s marine paintings have garnered him a record 21 awards at the Mystic International Marine Exhibition including the prestigious Rudolph J. Schaefer Award. He has received awards for his landscape painting from the Joan Irving Museum in Irvine, California, the Laguna Plein Air Invitational and from The Guild of Boston Artists. Don is a Fellow of the American Society of Marine Artists, an elected member of the Guild of Boston Artists, a Signature member of the Plein Air Painters of America, an elected member of the Salmagundi Club and an elected member of the California Art Club.
Jacqueline Jones
Jacqueline Jones is a nationally recognized landscape and seascape painter who finds inspiration painting from the natural world. Her process includes working on location en plein air as well as studio work which employs visual memory and imagination. Jackie’s artistic journey began at age 12 when she studied with Joseph Gionfriddo in Gilead, Connecticut. A former student of Guy Wiggins and James Goodwin Manus, Gionfriddo instilled in her a love of traditional oil painting.
She earned a degree in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Painting from the Lyme Academy College of Fine Art. Her love of travel and creating on location takes her to many places in the United States, and abroad.
She has participated in Telluride Plein Air, Painter’s on Location in Knoxville, TN and Hudson Valley Plein Air. The recipient of numerous awards including 1st Prize for Outstanding Work at the Salmagundi Club in NYC, her work has also been acquired by The Brinton Museum.
Jackie teaches painting at the Lyme Art Association. Her professional memberships include American Woman Artists, American Society of Marine Artists Signature Member, North Shore Arts Association, Oil Painters of America, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, Rockport Art Association and the Salmagundi Club in NYC.
John Taft
John Taft
Originally from western New York, John moved west to Colorado with his young family in 2004 to pursue painting, leaving a successful design and art direction career, primarily in New York City. His love of the West was instilled as he traversed this great country several times during his college years at Art Center College of Design in California. His love of fine art grew through regular museum and gallery visits during his time in New York.
John has been in numerous national shows including the Coors Western Art show in Denver, New York’s Salmagundi Club’s American Masters show, several Oil Painters of America National shows where he has received top awards including the Gold Award at the 2021 Oil Painters of America western regional exhibit in 2021. Additionally, John has had numerous solo shows. His painting Thunder Run was purchased in 2022 for The Museum of Western Art’s permanent collection. He has been the subject of feature articles in both Southwest Art Magazine and Western Art and Architecture.
Karen Bondarchuk
“People will come to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.”
Neil Postman
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Twitttiocy Series
Humans have long relegated non-human communication to singular onomatopoeias like “moo,” “neigh,” “oink,” “meow,” “woof,” etc. Once exclusive to birds, a tweet has been coopted to signify human chatter on social media. The corvids in this series of drawings look askance at the ubiquitous avian symbol, seemingly aware of its vacuity, prompting puzzlement, mild alarm and exasperation at this assault on their lives.
Karen Bondarchuk, a Canadian-born visual artist living and working in the United States, has exhibited widely in the United States, as well as in Canada, England, France, Italy and India, and has been awarded residencies in Austria, France, Wyoming, Virginia, Vermont and Illinois. Her work has received honors and awards in New York, Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Maryland and Wyoming, and is in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the Woodson Art Museum and several other public and private collections. Bondarchuk received her MFA from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and her BFA from the NSCAD University in Halifax, Canada. She is a professor in the Frostic School of Art at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Michele Usibelli
MICHELE USIBELLI
“During my work in architecture, I felt deeply connected to the arts. But I truly discovered my passion when I began to explore oil painting. For me, the process of creating begins with a scene that I feel carries a certain energy and evokes an emotion. I find myself drawn to subject matter with rich colors or intriguing light. The vignettes of everyday life that inspire me to paint, regardless of whether it’s a landscape, figurative work, cityscape, or portrait.
It is my primary goal to have each artwork I create resonate with energy and the poetry of light. I follow my own rule of painting as to what is truly important to me. I feel very fortunate to be able to share this with all those who support and appreciate my work. There is nothing more gratifying than knowing that my work, which is so important to me, is appreciated by others.”
Stephanie Rose
Stephanie Rose says her life has been a wandering path through many influential places and cultures. Her formative years were spent with parents in Hong Kong who were educators at an international school. The delicious cuisines experienced while traveling across Asia, piqued her curiosity about food and land which led to a career in sustainable agriculture. Agricultural research projects took Rose to Norway and Thailand as well as Minnesota, Montana and Wisconsin. After moving to Wyoming, the vast land and sky inspired Rose to begin painting and pursue a career as a professional artist. Rose’s art education includes courses at Oberlin College, Northwest College, and study with professional artists. She holds an MS degree in Land Resources from University of Wisconsin – Madison, and a BS degree in East Asian Studies from Oberlin College.
Rose’s work has been featured at The Brinton Museum and at the Wyoming State Capitol, as well as in the publication The Western Art Collector. Rose received The Bonner Family Award in 2023, The Bold Brush Award for Abstract in 2022, and Northwest College Board of Trustees Purchase Award in 2013.
